Children of Tomorrow
by Guardian001
Summary: The Reboot of The Children of Tomorrow! Doctor Doom has won his war against the heroes of the world and now sits atop the globe with an iron fist! The burden of heroism now falls to the children of the fallen heroes who must rise to the occasion and become the next Avengers!
1. Chapter 1

A fire crackled in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by trees. The moon hung high in the sky, adding to the illumination of the scenery. In the clearing, an older man with greying blonde hair sat on a log, staring into the fire. Next to him was a young girl, lying on the ground with a blanket over her.

"Daddy," the girl started. Her words took her father out of his trance. "I can't sleep. Can you tell me a story?"

The father nodded. "Which one do you want to hear? The one about Galactus? Or maybe the one about the aliens from a different dimension with the goofy names?"

The girl shook her head. "You told me all of those stories." She said. "Can you tell me the one about the superheroes?"

The older man chuckled. "You sure?" In response, his daughter nodded her head. "Alright. Two years ago, the world had superheroes. Men and women with great power and the ability to use it to save people from bad guys. Whether it was alien, god, mutant, or mankind itself, superheroes sacrificed their lives to save those who couldn't save themselves. The heroes like Captain America, the Amazing Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, and the Doctor Strange always did their best to save people. And when they couldn't do it alone, they'd form teams. The Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men were all heroes who united to help people. It was an age of miracles. An age of marvels. And an age of heroes."

"It was better then." The girl added, her sparkling blue eyes looking into her fathers'.

"Much better." The older man replied. "No villain could stand up to them." His disposition changed to a slightly grimmer one. "Until one did." His gaze returned to the fire. "A villain named Doctor Doom ended the Heroic Age, destroying the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Avengers, all of them. Every hero that stood up to him..." He looked to his daughter, a sadness in his eyes, as if he were recalling memories. "They aren't around anymore." He sighed before forcing a smile. "But that's the thing about heroes. They won't give up until they beat evil."

"Do you really think the good guys are going to come back?" The girl asked.

"They always do." The older man gave her a reassuring grin before kissing her on the forehead. "We just have to hold out hope until then." He ran his gloved fingers through her blonde hair. "Get some sleep muffin." He told her. "In the morning we'll move on before-." His line of thought was interrupted by a rustle in the treetops. He narrowed his eyes to see past the darkness.

The girl sat up from the floor, worried. "Daddy?"

The older man stood and began walking to where he heard the noise. His muscles were tense and his eyes focused, ready for what may come. The girl watched him march towards the darkness. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for anything suspicious but she hoped that it was nothing. Her heart beat into her ears and soon it was the only thing she could hear as she focused her attention on her father's back. However, her pulse would stop entirely upon feeling the tight grip on her shoulder. Slowly, she would look up to see the cold metallic face of the world's new ruler.

"Daddy!" The girl shouted as she was pulled to her feet by Doctor Doom.

Without hesitation, the man spun around to meet his daughter's attacker, his fist blazing into an orange ball of flame he readied to throw. "Hannah!"

"Ah, ah, ah." Doom's unsettling voice slithered through his metal mask. "You wouldn't risk the chance of harming your beautiful young daughter. Would you, Jonathan?"

"Let her go Doom!" Johnny Storm, better known as the Human Torch, shouted. "This is between us, leave her out of it."

"Do not be naive, Storm. I am not one to leave loose ends. You and your offspring are the last of the Fantastic Four. If left to your own devices, you will try to fight against me. You will fail but that is a thorn in my side I would rather not deal with." As Doom spoke, a small army of Doombots stepped out of the shadows, surrounding Johnny, almost daring him to make a move.

"You almost sound like you're scared of me Doom."

Doom replied by laughing, loudly and arrogantly. Johnny's eyes focused on Hannah who had tears staining her cheeks. He just needed an opening.

"Storm, you are less to me now than you were before I had the powers of a god at my disposal." He clenched his free hand which crackled with yellow energy. "You said it yourself: The might of the Avengers couldn't stop me. The strength of the X-Men could not hold me. And the knowledge of the Fantastic Four could not free the world of me. Doom is all powerful. Doom is almighty. What do I have to fear from the likes of a man who abandoned his own family to save his own neck?"

Johnny winced at the words but smirked. "Even with all that power you still can't go five minutes without hearing yourself talk." he looked at Hannah and winked. "Some things never change." His body began to smoke and his blue eyes turned into red hot pits of fire. "Now Hannah!"

In unison, the father and daughter shouted two words that Doom had come to hate with his entire being: "Flame on!"

Johnny erupted into a red flame that immediately blew back all of the Doombots near him. While Hannah ignited a blue flame that caused Doom to let go of her in shock. As soon as her feet hit the ground, the 9-year-old threw a blue ball of fire into Doom's mask before running away. The Human Torch soared into the sky, letting loose a torrent of fire that threatened to set the entire forest ablaze.

"Hannah!" Johnny shouted towards his daughter. "Just like we practiced, okay?"

Hannah ran into the trees, still covered head to toe in fire, as Doombots chased after her, firing at her small body. Upon hearing her dad's words, she leapt into the air and began to gain altitude until she too was flying.

Once the fire burning Doom's green cloak faded, his eyes began to crackle with energy. "Take the girl." He told his Doombots. "Storm is mine." He began to levitate towards Johnny who was blasting down Doombots. Once Doom was close enough, the Human Torch shot a fireball at him that the tyrant deflected.

"Bah!" Doom knocked the flame away from him but his target was nowhere to be found. Johnny flew in from the side, barreling into Doom's side, knocking him backwards.

"Don't 'bah' me!" Johnny smirked. For a moment, it felt like old times. Once again, he was the young and hot headed Human Torch of the Fantastic Four instead of an older, bearded hippie with no family but his daughter. With the thought of Hannah, he was suddenly back to reality. He whipped his head towards the young girl flying just a few yards away from him. She was dodging enemy fire but much less graciously than her father. Johnny knew It was only a matter of time until she was shot down. "Hannah!" He called. "Keep flying! I'll catch up!"

Hannah looked at her father. "But-!"

"Trust me!" He winked before returning his attention to Doom.

"Don't make promises you cannot keep, Storm."

Johnny prepared yet another flame blast as Doom shot a surge of yellow energy from his palm. The two clashed in the night skies and it sent a surge of energy that melted any Doombot unfortunate enough to be floating nearby.

Hannah had flown as fast as she could, for as long as she could but she was still young and her powers were relatively new to her. Thanks to the training she received from her father she was much more adept in these situations but she has yet to surpass a time limit for how long she could keep up her flame covered form. As she began to decrease her altitude, she looked up to see sparks of fire in the skies a few miles away. Her father was still alive and seemingly giving Doom a run for his money. That or Doom wasn't trying so hard. As much as it pained her to leave, Hannah knew that she would only get in the way of her dad and get them both killed. Hopefully her father could get a chance to run and they can both live to fight another day.

As she touched down, she tried not to think so fatalistic but it was hard not to be afraid of the world's greatest super villain. She checked behind her for any sign of the Doombots before collapsing on the ground, only looking up to watch her father work.

Underestimation was Doom's greatest flaw as an adversary. It has cost him many victories in the past and now was seemingly no different. For now, the Human Torch burned with the fire of the sun itself and was now able to unleash it all on Doom who had taken a hefty defensive state, only managing to evade and block attacks.

"This," Johnny shot a stream of flame at Doom, striking him in his armored chest. "Is for Reed!" Before Doom could compose himself, the Human Torch punched him in the face. "And that's for Ben!" A barrage of fire pelted Doctor Doom until he slammed into the forest floor. "Franklin, Valeria!" The villain stood, dusting himself off and noticed the trees around him begin to ignite. The air itself tasted charred and burnt as Johnny radiated so much heat, it looked as if the sun was rising just above Doom's head.

Doom stared into the light, eyeing the man through the fire he created. He stood, unflinching as the ground seemed to melt beneath his feet.

"And this," Johnny continued, staring at Doom. "This is for my sister, you son of a bitch." He clenched his fist and flew downwards at the villain, bringing his self-made sun with him. Ever since the cosmic rays gifted the Fantastic Four with their abilities, Johnny has been warned to never unleash the full power of his inner flame. Reed warned him that even attempting something like that would mean the end of all mankind and Johnny himself. But that was when he was young. Now, he was older, wiser, and had far more control of his flame. The heat that struck Doom was beyond comprehension. In one moment, it felt like half of the earth was being hit with the full force of a solar flare. As the miniature sun consumed Doom, Johnny drew the flames that covered the forest back into himself, absorbing it and the heat that could destroy this quarter of the planet. He only unleashed just enough to incinerate Doctor Doom and the surrounding clearing to ash.

As fast as it had appeared, the sun had dissipated into nothing as smoke came from what once was their campsite. Hannah watched on, sitting on the ground, too afraid to move. She was hoping that something would alert her to run away or towards the impact site. That signal came in the form of a slow-moving orange flame shooting into the air before crashing just a few miles away from Hannah's current location. The young girl smiled and took off running towards it.

Johnny landed on the ground with a thud and took a moment to breathe. He was sweating for the first time in years and felt himself fall to exhaustion. The entire area surrounding him was steaming and it began to rain due to the heat still in the air. The drops did the job in cooling him off and he smiled. Even if Doom was still alive, he was happy to finally unleash the full extent of his power on the man who deserved it the most. After his moment to recover himself, Johnny stood up to look for his daughter. However, almost like a sixth sense, dread had encompassed him.

"A good effort, Storm." Doctor Doom's cold voice spoke above him. "But like those who tried before you, not good enough." Johnny grimaced and readied another ball of flame but Doom shot a beam of energy right through the man's shoulder, causing the hero to fall over. After Johnny's last stunt he could barely create a sizzle, much less an attack. He looked to Doom, a pained grimace on his face as he nursed his now wounded shoulder. "Though I suppose I should thank you." Now that Doom was right in front of him, Johnny could see he was in perfect condition. There wasn't so much as a smudge on his green cloak. "I wanted to know just how much damage my new visage could take. Thanks to you I now know that I am nigh invulnerable." His metal hand gripped its fingers around Johnny's throat. "I suppose you did have a use after all."

The Human Torch was no idiot. He had been in the game long enough to know when he was finished. Only unlike the old days, there was no one to rush in and save him. But still he smirked. "You think you're invulnerable Doom. But you and I both know that your greatest weakness will always be yourself. So, take your victory for as long as you can hold it. It isn't going to be long before someone stops you." As Johnny spoke, thunder struck behind them.

Doom's eyes were focused and angry. For some reason, he found himself wanting the Human Torch to be afraid but the man was beaten and facing certain death, yet he smiled. With his free hand, Doom pressed a palm to Johnny's forehead. "You think too much about tomorrow," With a flick of yellow energy, Doom ignited the Human Torch's head for a brief moment, killing him instantly. "For a dead man." It was painless and quick. A mercy in response to the respect that Doom held for his former adversary. The metal clad conqueror let him go and watched his body slump to the ground. He took a moment to survey his surrounding before he began to float and then fly away, his work here clearly finished.

However, watching from a nearby shrub was young Hannah. The girl had hot tears running down her face that seemed to blend into the rain. She stood and slowly moved towards her father's unmoving corpse. "Dad...?" She called quietly. "Daddy?" Upon hearing no answer, she dropped to her knees next to her father and cried on his chest. "Daddy please... How am I going to keep going without you?" Hannah Storm knew her father well enough to know that he'd tell her to be strong. She was all that was left of the Fantastic Four and she was all alone in a world that wanted her dead. Hannah Storm would have to be strong.

 **Eight Years Later - The Sanctum Sanctorum**

A young girl slowly tiptoed through a long, dark hallway. Candles lit her way as she crept down the hall. Given that she wore a nightgown and a robe, she was clearly meant to be asleep but this girl was wide awake, her brown eyes wide behind her glasses. She came to a stop in front of one door before opening it and peeking inside. It was far darker than it was in the hallway. With a wave of her finger, one of the candles from the hall flew off of the wall and next to her, illuminating the room a bit. Now that she could see, she tipped into the room and towards the bed where a boy lay sleeping.

The girl cleared her throat. "Ben." She tapped his shoulder. No response. "Ben?" She shook him a little harder this time. No response. She sighed and stood straight before whispering something to herself and outstretching her arms. Light pink circles encompassed both of her hands as she turned her wrists. Matching her movements, the sleeping boy's blanket began to raise and wrap tighter around him. The girl rose her arms into the air and the blanket followed, lifting the boy with it. Once he was a few feet off his bed, the young magician ended her spell and the boy dropped back onto his mattress with a thud. His eyes shot open and he popped up off of the bed and leapt to the floor with a startled and alarmed look on his face. Once his senses came to him, he looked up at the girl.

"Emilia?" Ben stood upright, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

Emilia gave him a big smile and grabbed his wrist. "I found it." She said, pulling him out of his room and down the hall.

"Got what?" Ben asked. "Where are we going?" His questions went unanswered until Emilia brought the two to the Sanctum's massive library. Bookcases circled the wall and stretched several feet high. Most of those books were pulled from their shelves and left on the floor, opened to specific pages. It seems Emilia's been busy.

The girl brought Ben to one of the many desks in the library. This one, however, had a large stack of books crowding its surface along with a candle and a juice box. Emilia pointed at one of the opened books. "This is it." She said.

Ben looked at the book closely which, like nearly every other book in this library, was in a totally different language, complete with random circles and sigils. He looked back at the dark-skinned girl and shrugged. "I give up. What is it?"

"It's our way out."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "You found a teleportation spell?"

"Not just any teleportation spell." She smiled. "A spell that can get us out of this dimension."

Ben smiled back at her. "Awesome! Do you think you can pull it off?"

"It's not a beginner's level spell but it's doable." She responded. "It's as simple as flying."

Ben's smile disappeared. "You're not even that good at that."

Emilia jabbed him in the side with her elbow. "I'm working on it."

Ben shrugged. "Good enough I guess. Now we just need to make sure Alex doesn't find out and we're golden."

"Make sure Alex doesn't find out what?" The booming voice of Alex Rogers came from the doorway leading into the library. The two teenagers looked up to see the strapping auburn headed boy looking straight at them. "Because I think I already know."

"Nothing." Emilia Strange began frantically closing all of the books on the desk. "Nothing weird." She gave him an unconvincing smile. Ben Parker rubbed the bridge of his nose. Emilia always was bad at playing it cool.

Alex folded his arms and smirked. "You two still trying to leave, huh?"

Ben shrugged. "Can you blame us? Anyone can go stir crazy sitting in this big house for most of your life."

"Better to go stir crazy in here than to die out there."

"Pfft." Ben walked past Alex, his hands in his pajama pockets. "Says you."

Alex looked to Emilia who was picking up the books from the desk. Before the older boy could say anything, the fifteen-year-old spoke first.

"Don't look at me like that." She said.

He sighed. "Em, you know what I'm going to say."

"Then there's no point in you saying it."

"Then why do you keep hunting for spells to leave?"

"Because," Emilia began levitating the books towards their rightful spots on the bookshelves around the library. "I'm tired of this creaky old house floating in space!" She moved towards a large curtain in the library, pulling it open to reveal a swirling mass of pink and white space. "This is not normal!"

"And you think going back to earth where a madman rules the world is better?"

"Yes!" Emilia sighed. "No... I don't know. I just want to get out of here. Just for a little bit." She stared out of the window into the empty space. "I just feel like I should be out there. My purpose isn't to be locked away in some pocket dimension where we're the only living things."

Alex had heard it all before but that doesn't mean it got any easier being the hardass. He shook his head. "No, Em. I'm sorry but when we were left here, I was told to protect you and Ben and the best way to do that is staying put."

"You've been saying the same thing since you were twelve."

"I've been right since I was twelve."

"The world could be bright and sunny now and we'd never know it because we're floating out here!"

"Em." Alex said sternly. "No."

The young girl frowned at Alex before storming past him. The seventeen-year-old ran his fingers through his hair. Not the start to his morning he wanted but among the three of them, he was always seen as the older brother so he had to act like it and sometimes that meant making the decisions that warranted a few days of silent treatment. He turned to leave the library and found Ben leaning against the doorway with a bowl of cereal.

"You can't be mad at her." He said through a mouthful of milk and bits of oats.

"I'm not mad." Alex responded. "I'm just exhausted that I have to keep having the same conversation with the two of you over and over again. You need to stop encouraging her. Earth is a dangerous place and we're all better off staying out of it."

"Wow. The fearless son of Captain America everybody." Ben spoke, mimicking an announcer's voice. "Watch as he avoids danger and abandons a world in need."

"Don't start that." Alex walked past Ben, through the foyer of the Sanctum and down the long hall where their rooms are. The younger boy followed.

"I'm just saying. You have the kids of Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and freaking Captain America hanging out in nowhere space while the place we came from - our home dies." Ben argued. "What kind of heroes are we?"

"Easy." Alex stopped walking to face him. "We aren't heroes. We're teenagers and if we leave here to go fight out there we're going to end up exactly like our parents."

"But we have to try man. Before he left me here, my dad told me that with great power-."

Alex cut him off. "If you say with great power comes great responsibility, I'm going to throw you outside."

"Do you even know what it means?"

Alex stopped in front of the door to his room. "I don't care what it means. My responsibility is to protect what we have here. To me, that's worth more than an adventure as a wannabe superhero." He opened the door to his room. "My dad told me something too. He told me to keep you guys safe. And whether you like it or not, that's what I'm doing." He closed the door in Ben's face, leaving him alone in the hall with his bowl of cereal.

"What a jerk."

 **Jotunheim**

A young woman marched through two feet of snow, a blizzard whipping around her. She was covered from head to toe, a hood and cloak hugged her torso and heavy leggings protecting her lower half. With one hand she kept a scarf from flying off of her mouth and with the other she dragged a heavy axe. After what seemed like hours of aimless marching, the woman could finally see the light in the distance. A cave rested at the base of a large mountain. Inside, the promising glow of a light of some kind.

As she entered the cave she pulled her hood off of her head, freeing her golden blonde hair that draped off of her shoulders. Her light blue eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cave, focusing on the green light coming from deeper within the cave. The woman hoisted her axe to hold it in both hands before slowly moving further into the cave. Oddly, the darkness of the cave grew more encompassing but the bright green light glowed brighter until it was all the young girl could make out. At the back of the cave was a small green stone, emanating with a magical glow.

"Finally." The blonde woman kneeled down to run her fingers along the smooth surface before taking her a bag from around her waist and emptying its contents on the ground. Six other colored stones clacked to the ground to join the green one. Now there were seven stones of different colors of the rainbow. Together, they began to glow a solid white and hum with power. "The pieces of the Bifrost are reunited." The girl spoke alone, her voice echoing in the cave. "Midgard awaits." She placed her hand on the seven shards of the Bifrost. "I, Daughter of Thor and Princess of the lost realm of Asgard invoke thee, Bifrost: Take me to Midgard so that I may kill my enemies and avenge my fallen family."

After a few moments, the pieces of the Bifrost seemed to surge with energy before erupting in a torrent of white light which began to cover her. The Asgardian shielded her eyes from the light but in a flash, she was gone, a trail of smoke where she had been. The Bifrost shards ceased their humming and the color faded from them. Soon, they were just ordinary rocks, exhausted of their magical energy.

The warrior could feel herself flying through the cosmos but all she could see was a blinding white light that pulled her from the icy tundra that was Jotunheim to her new location. She gripped her axe and steadied her pounding heart. After a long couple of years travelling from realm to realm, hunting down the seven pieces of the Bifrost that had been lost when Asgard was destroyed, she was finally ready to enter Midgard. She was one step closer to avenging Asgard. Though still young, the woman's heart ached for revenge and that vengeance would only come when she separated Doom's head from his shoulders.

 **The Sanctum Sanctorum**

Emilia Strange has never truly known what normal is. From her very first memory she could only remember darkness before being saved by her soon to be adopted father, Dr. Stephen Strange. He would train her in the mystic arts and introduce her to the magic dwelling within her that had always yearned for an outlet. But as fast as he had come, he had gone - leaving with the few remaining Avengers to battle Doctor Doom for the fate of the earth. He had promised Emilia and the other children that if they survived they would bring them back. Even then, the five-year-old Emilia could tell that he wasn't too confident about their chances of making it back alive. Obviously, ten years have passed and the trio are still floating in a pocket dimension so at this point it was probably safe to say that their parents were never coming back. It had not been all bad though. Thanks to enchantments and spells Doctor Strange had littered around the Sanctum, they always had food and entertainment. There was even a theater room complete with thousands of movies. The books in the library practically gave them any normal education and early on Alex had created a chore system to make sure they never got too lazy.

The children had found ways to keep themselves busy for the past decade. For Alex, he read books from the library and sat in his room, perfecting his artistic abilities which he has never shared with his housemates. Every now and then he'd take a trip to the gym and try to stay fit. He called it his alone time. Ben spent most of his time enjoying the never-ending supply of food in the Sanctum and sitting in front of the theater watching any movie he could find. Emilia, on the other hand, spent her time studying. Stephen had instilled in her a thirst for magical knowledge and now that the entirety of the Sanctum was free to use, Emilia took the opportunity to keep tutoring herself in the mystic arts. While she loved learning how to use her astral form and turn a fire into a butterfly, she ultimately wanted to find a way to leave.

When they were left here, this sort of life was new for Alex and Ben, both of whom had lived in normal homes with their parents before Doom took over. Emilia has always known floating dishes that cleaned themselves or riding on the top of a magic carpet. But even now, as she walked through the massive, seemingly moving corridors of her home, she was tired of it. Alex had a point. It was dangerous to leave the Sanctum and go to earth. But the thing Emilia had come to grips with a long time ago was that she didn't care. One way or another, she needed to leave and she knew that she had the power to.

She reached the library and after taking a few moments to check over her shoulder, she ran towards one of the many bookcases and began thumbing through them until her finger landed on the brown leather-bound spine of the book she was looking for. She hoisted it off of the shelf and flipped through the pages until landing on the one that she had shown Ben that morning. She took the book to the desk and set it down, preparing to recite the spell she needed.

"Okay..." Emilia whispered to herself. "Simple as flying... I hope." After a moment of silence, Emilia's eyes lit up with pink energy, her hands were orbited by glowing sigils, and she began reciting words that no untrained tongue could form. As she spoke, she made different symbols with her hands for every word, the sigils around her changing with them. The ground of the Sanctum began to rumble and a gust of wind surrounded Emilia. She felt it working.

A bright beam of light appeared in front of her, eventually forming into a portal. Emilia stopped her chant, a large smile plastered across her face. "I did it?" She was somewhat shocked before jumping in the air and throwing her hands up. "I did it!"

And here it was. Her way out into the great unknown. The practiced magician was readying to take her steps into the void. She would leave and then come back quick before anyone even knew she was gone. She was sure that she could repeat the spell so even at the first sign of trouble, she'd jump back over and pretend it never even happened. Foolproof in the mind of the fifteen-year-old. She was about to take her leave but hesitated, noticing something else coming through the portal. She squinted through her glasses and could only make out the figure of another person becoming more and more clear.

"Um... Hello?" Emilia started.

The figure didn't respond, only marching forward until Emilia could totally make out a tall young woman with glorious golden hair that bellowed with the energy released from the portal. She was wearing leathers and furs, complete with golden metal bracers on her wrists and belt. Finally, and most alarming, she held a large axe in one hand that looked as if it had seen plenty of use in the past.

"Who are you?" Emilia asked the woman as the portal shut behind her.

"I," She began, raising her axe, pointing its sharp edges at Emilia. "Am the vengeance of Asgard. Now, little witch, where is your master?"

Emilia put her hands up. "Wait what? I don't have any master-."

"Fine then. If you won't tell me, I will force it from you!"

A Few Minutes Earlier

In the gym, Alex pelted a punching bag with a flurry of blows that would have toppled any normal man. The super soldier serum that Alex had inherited from his dad made sure that he would never need to work out to stay in shape but he still enjoyed his time alone in the gym. Lord knows Ben and Emilia rarely worked out. One thing that the late Steve Rogers had instilled in his son was the need to always stay prepared. While Captain America worked to create a better future for everyone, he knew that safety was never a guarantee. Even in this pocket dimension it was possible for the Sanctum to be brought under attack or something along those lines. Spending time in the gym made Alex feel like he would be ready for any event as well as giving him the chance to release some stress.

Alex placed a well-aimed strike to the midsection of the bag before landing another on its other side. With one more punch, he blew the bag off of its chain and into the gym wall. Not the first time he's done that but it felt damn good.

"Jesus." Alex looked over to see Ben walking into the gym wearing his own set of workout clothes. "You think that maybe talking your problems out with the punching bag may be a better solution than abusing it?" Alex chuckled and sat on the ground to take a swig of his water.

"It's not much of a talker these days." He responded.

"Lucky for you, Dr. Benjamin Riley Parker is here to listen."

Alex groaned playfully but Ben sat on the floor next to him, a smile on his face that suggested he genuinely wanted to talk.

"I don't know." Alex started. "I just... I can't get what happened with Em out of my head. I've had that argument so many times - with the both of you. But I know that, when it comes to Emilia, she's only going to get stronger at casting her spells. It's only a matter of time until I won't be able to just wag my finger at her to get her to listen to me."

"Then maybe - and this is a big maybe," Ben started. "Hear her out? Listen to her and just relent this one time?"

"There's no telling what's going on over there. Maybe New York is desolate and empty because Doom nuked it all to hell. Maybe he and every other villain are in some war. Maybe there's no more earth at all."

"Look, I get you're trying to protect us," Ben started. "But we can't just stay here and pretend like nothing is wrong."

"That's better than dying, Ben."

"You keep saying that but is this really living to you Alex?" Ben stood up. "We do the same thing every day, we see the same things every day, hell, I'm pretty sure we say the same thing every day! Really, how you can stand this pattern of life is impressive."

"It wouldn't be so bad if you and Emilia would grow up and stop pretending like we're in some fairy tale." Alex stood up to look at Ben as he too got louder. "We aren't destined heroes to come back from exile and save the world from the big bad villain. The real heroes - our parents - died."

"We may not be the freakin' Avengers but we are all that's left." Ben ran his hands through his brown hair, obviously getting frustrated. "I have the ability to help people and if it costs me my life then fine. I would be glad to have died trying to make a difference than spend another repetitive day in here with a control freak like you!"

It was clear to Alex that Ben was just ranting at this point so he grabbed his towel and water bottle and began to leave. "Whatever."

"You know, eventually, Emilia's going to realize that you can't actually stop her from leaving and... And..." Before he could finish, Ben felt a familiar buzzing sensation in his head. "Something's wrong."

Alex stopped in the doorway of the gym and looked to Ben. Suddenly, he had a horrible feeling in his gut. Fear. If Ben's spider-sense was going off that could only mean one thing. Instinctively, the two tensed up. "Emilia." They both said in unison.

Alex took off in a sprint towards the library, cutting through the halls as Ben chased behind him, not as fast but still managing to keep up. Even before entering the library, the two boys could see the light show coming from inside. They stopped in the doorway, seeing utter chaos erupting in the library. The many desks were either flung onto the ground or cut in half, many of the books were peeled off of the shelves and littered the floor, and scorch marks and deeps cuts were embedded in the walls. In the center of the library, the two boys found the cause of the destruction. Emilia flew through the air, blasting at a tall blonde woman with an axe in her hands. The intruder used her axe as a shield, the magical blasts from Emilia seemingly being absorbed into it.

"This, little witch," the woman started. "Is Slorbryter." She held the axe in front of her, almost admiring it. "Veil Breaker in your tongue. It is immune to your magic. You can't hurt me."

Emilia grit her teeth as she hovered in the air. "Wanna bet?" Her eyes lit up and, after a few hand signs, the planks of wood that made up the floor beneath the attacker's feet stretched up into hands, reaching around her and holding her down. "I already told you, you have the wrong place!" She explained. "This isn't earth!"

The woman started pushing against her restraints with all of her might, letting out an angry roar as she flexed every muscle in her body. With one more thrust of her arms, she burst the wood off of her and reared her axe back to throw at Emilia!

Before she could, Alex and Ben lunged at her, gripping her arms with theirs and stopping her attack. "Who are you?" Alex asked, trying to keep her retrained.

"Whoever, she is," Ben started. "She came to the wrong house."

Emilia began casting a spell, causing more of the wooden planks to cover the attackers' legs, slowly encasing her.

The woman grabbed Ben's chest with her hand and hoisted her arm upward, tossing him into the ceiling before he crashed back down onto one of the desks, snapping it under his weight. She then used her now free arm to grab Alex by the back of his shirt and throw him off of her and towards Emilia! The boy flew into her and the two dropped to the ground. The warrior stood, knocking the remaining wood planks off of her legs.

"It doesn't matter how many of you come! I will slay you all the same! All who ally with Doom shall meet the avenger of my family!" She spotted Ben trying to stand and she kicked him back over before placing her foot on his chest. "Where is Doom?" Her axe met the young man's gaze. "I will not ask again."

Ben squinted his eyes, as if he was trying to process what she was saying. "Doom? As in Doctor Doom? He isn't here! You aren't even on earth, lady."

The woman raised her axe above her head. "More lies!"

Before she could bring her axe down on top of Ben, Alex launched himself at her, slamming his knee into her side! The blonde lost her balance and toppled to the ground.

Alex pointed at her. "Whoever you are, you need to get the hell out of our house." He warned.

She smiled and used her axe to help her stand. "You know not who you trifle with."

Alex got into a fighting stance, fists balled and eyes narrowed. "I don't give a damn."

The woman swung her axe at him but Alex ducked and punched her in the side. She swung downward on top of him but he rolled to the side, letting her dig her axe into the ground. Ben, raising from the ground, took the opportunity to kick her weapon out of her hands before Alex landed another blow to her jaw! The blonde stumbled for a moment and wiped away a drop of blood. Alex tried to seize the moment to land another attack but the Asgardian caught his fist in her hand. Ben leapt from the ground and was preparing to grapple the tall girl into a chokehold but she expected him. Still holding Alex's hand in hers, she whipped the older boy into Ben who flew back, winded and gripping his aching gut. Alex used his free hand to get in a few jabs at the warrior woman's face but she let loose a punch, precisely in the boy's diaphragm! All of the wind seemed to exit Alex all at the same time and he fell over, clutching his chest, trying to breathe. He tried to stand but toppled back over, coughing. If it weren't for his own innate abilities, he probably would be dead.

Thankfully, before his attacker could continue her attack, a chair whipped into her back. She spun around to see Ben standing again.

"I'd say pick on someone your own size but there's no one here that fits so..." In response, the intruder grabbed a piece of a desk and threw it at him but the boy's own reflexes allowed him to slide underneath the projectile before leaping up and punching her in the face. He landed next to Alex in a crouch and, with one swift kick to her stomach, she flew back and away from them. Ben turned to his friend who was still struggling to catch his breath. "You okay?"

Alex nodded, still coughing, and pointed back towards the woman who was now picking up her axe from where Ben had kicked it.

Ben grabbed a bunch of books from the floor and leapt towards her, throwing them at her. The Asgardian swung her axe, cutting down the books as the agile spider-boy leapt from spot to spot, adding more ancient texts to his arsenal. Once he ran out, he jumped towards her, attempting to land a blow on her but, like before, she was ready and caught the boy's neck in her hand!

"Were those too high level for you?" Ben asked. "Sorry, next time I'll find the kindergarten reading level books and-." Before he could finish his joke, she threw him into the ground and slammed her boot onto his chest. Ben watched the Asgardian raise her axe above her head, a scowl on her face.

"You know," He said as he struggled to get her off of him. "You're kinda cute when you're ready to kill me."

"Shut up! Last chance. Where is Doom?"

"Like we've been telling you, crazy lady, you have the wrong place. Doom can't even get here."

"More lies!"

"No!" Alex shouted as he tried to stand. However, before the woman could drop her axe on top of Ben, a book flew into her head. The warrior growled and turned to see Emilia standing with her hands up.

"Sorry! Sorry! I just wanted your attention." She smiled sheepishly. "We're telling the truth. If you don't believe me," With a flick of her wrist, the curtain in front of the library window moved, revealing the massive red and white space the Sanctum resided in. "Look. This isn't earth. Doom isn't here."

The woman studied the scenery as she lowered her axe. After a few moments of contemplation, she felt the boy under her foot begin to squirm.

"Do you mind?" He said.

She moved her foot and helped him up. Slowly and cautiously, Emilia and Alex stepped closer to her, both nursing their bruises and sores.

"You mentioned Doctor Doom killed your family?" Emilia asked her. "He killed ours too. We were left here to be safe from him."

The woman was silent for a moment before turning to the trio. "If what you say is true then you know how I feel." She paused before turning to them. "You have my deepest apologies for my attack." She slung you axe over her shoulder. "I am Seren Odinchild, the last of the Asgardians and sole daughter of Thor. It has been my mission to kill Doom for his crimes against my people. I am afraid I need your help to reach Midgard."

Alex looked at Emilia who was trying very hard to avoid eye contact with him. That was all the reason Alex needed to know that however the Asgardian got here, it was her fault. Ben on the other hand, had gone sparkly eyed. He looked at Alex and then back to Seren.

"You know, I'm suddenly very happy you showed up."


	2. Chapter 2

Seren sat at the end of a large dining table, patiently tapping her finger against its surface. She was impressed by the size of the Sanctum and, while it was magic in nature, it was not magic of the realms where she originated. After living in the wilds of places like Svartalfheim and Jotunheim, it was comforting to be in a home with walls and a roof.

As she sat, admiring the chandelier hanging above her head, Alex, Ben, and Emilia watched her from the kitchen.

"Unbelievable." Alex sighed before looking to Emilia. But before he could speak, she cut him off.

"I don't know how she got here!" Alex raised an eyebrow. "Honest!" The girl thought for a second. "Okay, I know how she got here obviously."

"Through the portal you made." Ben added, digging in the freezer for a frozen box of pizza.

"Right. But I don't know why." She pushed her glasses up. "I followed the instructions from the book perfectly. I should have just made a small, one-way portal to earth. But instead-."

"Instead, you pulled Thor's freakin' daughter to the Sanctum." Alex finished.

"But the portal shouldn't have been able to do that. I shouldn't have been able to do that."

"Well none of this would have happened if you had just listened to me."

"Would you relax?" Emilia shouted back. "It isn't like Doctor Doom is at our doorstep."

"We know nothing about that girl. She tried to kill us."

"We know she wants to kill Doom."

"That's even worse! What if she brings Doom here? He could be looking for her and, personally, I-."

Before their bickering could continue, Ben stepped in between them, a frozen pizza on a pan in his hand. "Guys. How about we... you know, talk to her and get her side of things?" Alex was about to talk but Ben shushed him. "What's happened has happened. She's here, we're still alive, and Doom is nowhere in sight. So why don't we cook this bad boy up," He held the pizza in front of Emilia. "And go entertain the first-slash-only guest we've ever had."

Alex and Emilia were left in stubborn quietness before Alex turned to step into the dining hall. "Fine."

Ben held the frozen pizza closer to Emilia. "If you would be so kind?" He gave her a wide smile and she playfully groaned before using her magic to heat the pizza to perfection. Ben ruffled her frizzy hair. "Thank you."

Alex was the first to sit at the table, but he took a seat a little further away from Seren. Ben and Emilia followed, Ben holding the pizza and Emilia carrying a soda.

"We don't really know what Asgardians eat," Emilia stated as they put the food in front of her. "But I hope this is good enough."

Seren nodded her head in thanks before picking up a hot slice of the pizza and scarfing it down. The trio watched in abject confusion and curiosity as she proceeded to shove handfuls of the food into her mouth, only stopping to dump the soda into her mouth to wash it all down. Once it was all over, she burped and smiled at her hosts.

"It's no boar and mead over a campfire but," she let out a burp that Ben could swear echoed further down the halls. "It was pretty good."

"Glad it was serviceable." Alex said, very sarcastically as he sat with his arms folded, a very unapproving glare adorned his face.

"So," Ben sat in the chair next to Seren's. "Tell us all about you."

"What do you wish to know?"

"Well. For starters," Ben picked up her axe from off the ground. He found that the weapon was surprisingly heavy, even with his above average strength. "Where'd you get this cool axe? What did you call it? Snore Breaker?"

"Slorbryter." She corrected, taking it from him. "I made it in Nidavellir specifically to kill Doom. It's sharp enough to cut through his metal and enchanted to high Hel to disrupt any magics."

Emilia remembered how easily it sliced through most of her direct attacks. "They have magic that powerful in the other realms?"

"Aye." Seren responded. "It is not easily achieved. It took me years of forging, slaying, and bleeding to achieve this weapon."

"You must really want to kill Doom." Ben said.

"Do you not?" She looked at him, a serious look in her pale blue eyes. "Your parents were heroes of your realm that he murdered as well, yes?" She looked to both Emilia and Alex, both of whom had solemn faces. "Why are you staying here instead of avenging them?"

"It's not by choice, that's for sure." Ben said under his breath.

"Because we were told to." Alex responded. "Our parents sent us out here to be safe."

"Do you have any idea the kind of power that Doom wields?" Seren asked, looking directly at Alex. "He stole the Odin Force from my grandfather. With it, he can do almost anything. Locating a small pocket realm would be nothing to him. The only reason he hasn't yet is because he doesn't know you're here."

Ben and Emilia went wide eyed. Clearly, they weren't as safe in the Sanctum as they had previously thought.

Alex could see the sudden alarm in their faces. He too was just as unnerved by what Seren said but, for the sake of the other two, he kept a straight face. "Then we'll keep it that way." He didn't know if he was saying that for Ben and Emilia or himself.

Seren let out a boisterous laugh at Alex's response, even slamming her fist on the table. "Well then Alex Rogers," She wiped a tear away from her eye. "I wish you luck. But it is only a matter of time."

Alex frowned, obviously a little irritated. At this point, he was tired of hearing people tell him that he was wrong to be afraid of an all-powerful tyrant with the power of a god. He cleared his throat and chose to shoot back at the Asgardian with a question of his own. "So. How did you get here?"

Seren stood, her axe still in her hand. "For the last few months I've been on a quest to piece together shards of the Bifrost Bridge. It was destroyed when Doom toppled Asgard and its remnants were scattered throughout the realms. I've been travelling between them to find the shards. Once I did, I prayed to the old gods to bring me to Midgard. Instead, I ended up here, I know not how."

"How were you managing to move between the realms if the Bifrost was destroyed?" Emilia asked. "I read that that's the only way to travel between the nine realms."

Seren shook her head. "It was the most convenient but not the only way. There are leagues of small cracks between the realms that can be exploited."

"Then why not use one of those to travel to earth?" Alex asked.

"The other realms are tightly connected. Midgard is a mite further off. There are no secrets to get into Midgard because Midgard is so far removed from the other realms. The only quick way is through the Bifrost." She explained. She looked to Emilia. "That begs the question," She sat back down in her chair and leaned closer to Emilia, studying her. "How did a practice mage who can barely float cut the Bifrost's pathway?"

Emilia was flustered. "Uh... I... Well-." She looked to Alex and Ben as if they had the answers, but they also stared at her, equally as curious for the answer. "Beginner's luck, I guess?" She said it as if she was asking herself.

"I think not." Seren started. "I've met my fair share of mages, new and expert. The magic between the realms is different but no one can misdirect the Bifrost." She narrowed her eyes at Emilia who was slowly sinking into her seat. "You are a powerful magician. Clearly something lurks in you." Seren said before standing again. "That settles it. The chords of fate themselves have brought me here for this reason." The warrior looked to Emilia. "Will you join me in my crusade to slay Doom?"

Emilia's eyes went wide behind her glasses and she smiled. This wasn't at all how she saw her exit of this pocket dimension going but if the warrior woman wanted to take her to earth then she wasn't going to say no.

However, before she could say anything, Alex's stern voice spoke next.

"No." He said.

Seren looked at him. "The two of you are welcome to come along, of course."

Ben began smiling too but Alex shut her down.

"No one is going anywhere except for you." He stood from his seat and began walking towards Seren. "Emilia is going to cast her spell or whatever and send you to earth or Jotunheim or wherever it is you want to go," Now Alex was standing in front of Seren and looking up at the taller girl, staring her down with daggers in her eyes. "But that's it. No one is going to be joining your crusade."

Seren looked down at the boy and furrowed her brow. "Very well then."

"Wait, hold on just a second." Emilia stood from her seat, angrily looking to Alex. "You can't just do that! I can make my own decisions. I don't need you to parent me."

"Someone has to if you're going to keep acting like a kid."

"Guys," Ben was rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Maybe we shouldn't argue in front of the guest."

"No," Emilia pointed at Alex. "I have to get this off my chest or I'm going to explode. I am so sick and tired of you telling me what to do all the time! You might be older than us but you're still just a kid." Alex and Ben were shocked to hear this level of intensity coming from the normally soft-spoken Emilia. Even Seren had taken a few steps back, watching this familial spat take place.

"Alex, I love you. You're like a brother to me. You and Ben are the only family I have left." Emilia started. "But I can't stay here anymore. Every day I feel trapped here. Like a bird in a cage. I need to feel the sun on my face. I need to be able to breathe. And you know I can't do that sitting here for the rest of my life."

Alex was about to speak but Emilia simply turned to walk out of the dining hall. It was silent as she quietly stormed off and even a few seconds after she was gone.

"Dude." Ben looked at Alex. His eyes said it all: _"Go talk to her. Let her know you care about her. Let her go with Seren. Stop being such a jerk."_ But all Alex could do was softly leave the hall himself, opting instead to lock himself in his room.

When he was gone, Ben looked at Seren. "Let's just... Give them some time." He said. "It's what I typically do when they get this way."

"I'm sorry that I caused this." Seren apologized. "I shouldn't have assumed."

Ben began picking up the pan and cup from the table to take it to the kitchen. "You didn't cause this. This happens like... Once a week."

"How do you stand it?"

"You know, when you hear the same thing for years of your life it starts becoming background noise." He chuckled. "It isn't always that bad. It just... Sorta exploded today."

"While we wait for them... Would you mind making me another one of those?" She pointed to the pan.

"Oh, a pizza? Sure. Just leave some for me too, huh?"

 **Manhattan**

After Doom destroyed the hero community, the governments of the world knew that their best course of action would be to bow down and behave. Doom didn't want to destroy the world or collapse society into a wasteland. All he ever wanted to do was control everything. And now he did. Gone are the ideas of separate states, nationalities, and religions. Now, everyone functioned under Doom and with his rule came new laws and one of them was a ten o'clock curfew for everyone who wasn't working. New York, one of the busiest and most crowded cities on earth was resorted to a nearly pitch-black ghost town at 9:30, save for those going in for their night shift and the armed police force enforcing the curfew.

The New York Spire, a massive building in the heart of Manhattan that was once the site of the famous Baxter Building. Once a place associated with heroism and progress, it was now a place to ominously watch over the citizens of New York. Camera footage, phone conversations, documented records of any kind passed through the Spire and was heavily studied and stored. Privacy was diminished under Doom's regime all in the name of peace and safety.

In front of the large gate in front of the Spire's entrance was a young officer standing guard. The young man kept his head on a swivel, narrowing his eyes at the alleys across the street and the rooftops around him.

"Relax rookie." The older officer next to him said. Unlike the younger patrolman, he was calm and relaxed as he casually leaned against the gate. "Don't strain yourself looking for stuff that ain't there."

"But sir," the young man started. "Aren't we supposed to be looking for people out past curfew?"

"Yeah but no one is going to actually be out past 9:30. They're too afraid." He said. "I've been a part of this force since it started kid. After the good guys died no one has it in 'em to try and step up to Doom or anyone wearing one of these." He pointed to the bronze badge on his chest that, of course, had the face of Victor von Doom engraved on its surface.

The young officer thought for a moment before looking at his partner. "If the good guys are all gone then what does that make us?"

The older man chuckled. "People gettin' by."

There was a moment of silence before the younger man felt a sharp pain in his neck that made him jump. Instinctively, his hand went to the origin point of the pain and felt a thin piece of metal sticking out of his neck. He quickly felt himself beginning to lose consciousness before dropping to the floor. The older guard ran to his fallen partner.

"Kid!" He called. "You alright?" He shook the man, but he wasn't waking up. The guard put his finger to the side of his ear, activating his com link to the rest of the guards. "Spire, this is Officer Gerson. I have a-." Before he could finish static cut through his ear. "What the hell?" To add to his confusion, the spotlights around the gate begin to go out, leaving him in almost complete darkness. In response, he pulled his firearm and aimed it at nothing. "Show yourself!"

"People getting by?" A voice spoke through the shadows. "That's what you think you are?" The older man began trying to aim at the source of the voice, but the deep and almost ghostly voice sounded like it was coming from every direction. "That's rich. A piece of scum working for more scum. You're an overpaid henchman doing what you're told because you're too gutless to stand up for what's right." The voice continued. "You benefit from a regime that oppresses and you do nothing but sit in your filth and enjoy the ride. 'Getting by' my ass. You ask me? You're just as bad as the gangsters you work for." As the voice kept talking, the guard could hear it getting closer and closer to him. He tried not to, but he was shaking, sweating, and his heart was beating faster than he ever thought it could. "And I think you all need a little... Punishing." The man turned and came face to face with a white skull, staring at him. Before he could fire, his gun was knocked out of his hand and he was on the ground, out cold.

The man in the white skull helmet stood, admiring his work before looking out into the darkness across the street. "We're good." He called.

Two other people stepped out of the shadows, one a young blonde woman and the other a tall black man. The woman frowned as she approached the Punisher. "Was any of that really necessary, Ed?" She asked, looking at the two guards.

"What?" Ed shrugged. "I didn't kill them."

"Yeah, you just made them piss their pants."

"I thought it was pretty badass." The other man said as he dragged the two unconscious guards into the shadows to hide their bodies.

"Thanks Jay. At least someone appreciates my methods."

"Well next time can you speed your methods up?"

"Oh, sorry Hannah," Ed spoke sarcastically. "We can't all fling fire out of fingers. Us non-super powered people can only do so much." He tapped Jay's shoulder.

Jay Cage raised an eyebrow and looked at the man. "Don't lump me in with you. I have powers."

Ed sighed. "Would it kill you to back me up this once?"

"Probably."

"Guys," Hannah Storm interrupted, pulling a small circular device out of her pocket. "Enough with the banter. We're on the clock." She turned to look at the top of the gate, making direct eye contact with one of the cameras. She held the circular device towards it and pressed a button. The camera froze for a second. "Are we good?" She asked it. After a moment, the camera nodded up and then down. "Good, Chris got a hold of the security. We should be good to move now. Just don't be seen." She turned to the other two. "Alright, we don't have much time. Let's go."

 **Inside the Spire**

Jay Cage peaked around the corner leading into a large white hallway. The first thing he could see was the bulk of security, armed to the teeth with weaponry and armor. Behind them was a large, armor plated door at the end of the hall labeled: Spire's Eye.

"Bingo." He turned back to Hannah and Ed, both of whom were waiting behind him. "The Eye is down the hall but we ain't making it there without a fight." He reported. After crawling through vents, climbing up elevator shafts, and sneaking past guards, it would seem their luck at playing it stealthy was about to run out.

"Sweet." Ed pulled out his gun. "We didn't just break into the most secure building in New York for nothing." He was about to step forward, but Hannah held her hand out in front of him.

"Wait a minute." She said. "How many?"

"Fifteen at least. Maybe more in the other rooms. No vents to crawl through so unless you can suddenly turn invisible, we're gonna have a fight on our hands."

Hannah thought for a few moments. The mission was to enter the building unseen and leave the same way with their goal. But now, on the very top floor of the Spire, there was no other plan but to fight or leave. Ed was right in a way. They were already here, and their goal was just down the hall. She stared at the floor, hoping an easier answer would materialize before her but at the end of the day it was her call.

She sighed. "We do this fast and we do it as quiet as possible." Hannah looked to Jay. "No unnecessary risks." She turned to Ed. "No killing. These are still people."

Hannah could tell that Ed was pouting behind his helmet. "You're no fun."

The blonde looked to Jay and nodded. The young man smirked, almost seeming excited as he cracked his knuckles and rolled up the sleeves on his hoodie. "Pop some smoke." He told Ed.

The Punisher reached for a palm sized sphere on his belt. This sphere had a skull drawn on it with a puff of smoke over its head. He pressed a button along its curve and, after counting to three, he tossed it around the corner where it rolled towards the guards. The two closest to the sphere slowly approached the object, weapons drawn. The other guards behind them were also staring down the hall in bated breath, waiting for a report.

"What the hell?" One of the two approaching guards asked just before the sphere unleashed a cloud of smoke that quickly shrouded the hall.

The guards began coughing up the thick smog and squinting through the smoke. One of them tapped on the sides of his helmet, lowering his visor and face mask, allowing him to see thermal signatures. "Visors down." He called before trying to talk into his communicator, only to receive static. "Coms are down. We're on our own here. Be ready."

One guard lowered his helmet just in time to see a fist flying towards his face! That would be the last thing he'd see before Jay's punch floored him onto the ground. The young man would move swiftly from one attack to another, punching the nearest guard in the center of his chest. The bullet-stopping metal armor held up under the man's fist, but the force threw the guard into a wall. Jay stood over the two unconscious guards and seemed to admire his handiwork before the other guards began to fire at him! The bullets cut through his jacket and shirt but harmlessly pelted against his skin, coming to a complete stop before falling to the ground. Jason Cage inherited his father's bullet proof skin but, as an add-on, his muscles began to grow slightly with every bullet that hit his body! Charged with kinetic energy, Jay ran towards the gunfire. As he moved towards them, Hannah followed behind Jay, allowing him to take the brunt of the bullets as she fired blue balls of flame from her human shield. The new Punisher, just a few steps behind Hannah, began firing taser shots at some of the guards, aiming for vulnerable areas like their joints and necks.

Jay stood, absorbing the bullets from the few remaining guards. Sure, he could press an attack but that'd leave his team to potentially get tagged by a stray bullet.

Punisher reached to the back of his belt and retrieved another sphere. This one had another skull drawn on but instead of a puff of smoke, this skull had sunglasses over its eyes. "You might want to close your eyes." He told both Hannah and Jay over the loud gunfire. He threw the sphere in the air and, as suggested, Hannah and Jay turned away and shut their eyes. The sphere exploded into a blinding flash of light, blinding the guards shooting at them! The trio took their chance to rush the rest of the group, each one taking down their fair share of guards, be it with fire, fist, or a headbutt with a helmet.

With the last officer fallen to the floor, Hannah turned to the large door at the end of the hall. It had no obvious handle of course but there was a keycard scanner next to it. She looked to the unconscious guards. "Which one of these guys do you thinks have a keycard to open the door?" She was about to check the men at her feet, but Jay began peeling open the door. After a few grunts, the way in was wide open.

"You said fast." Jay said as his body began to let out some steam and his muscle mass returned to normal.

"Fair enough." Hannah said as she stepped inside. The very top of the Spire housed a relay system for the Eye, Doom's satellite that he and his underlings use to keep watch over their subjects. Every major city in the world was equipped with its own Spire and alert system that would warn those in charge of any crime in progress, be it a domestic violence incident or reading a biography about Tony Stark.

Hannah entered the large, circular room that was lined with panels and screens that constantly changed, showing various things.

"What is all of this?" Jay asked.

"These are what people across New York are looking at right now. Television screens, computers, phones," Her eyes darted from screen to screen. "It's all being recorded and stored here."

"Talk about your privacy invasion." Ed said. "Now, how about we get to blowin' this place sky high?"

"No, that's not the mission." Hannah said, moving to the very center of the room where a large, flat console sat. There were large cables connecting it to the walls and panels. "We destroy this place and they'll just make a new one before we have time to celebrate." She waved her hand across the panel and a holographic structure of the whole of Manhattan appeared, with the Spire itself highlighted red. "This is the mission." She kneeled to the base of the console and searched for a way into it. She stood, dejected and looked to Jay. "You mind?"

Without a word, Jay lifted his fist and brought it down on top of the console's surface, destroying it but providing a way inside of the computer. Hannah squinted her eyes as she carefully scanned the innards of the console.

"Let's say I didn't pay attention to what we were actually supposed to be doing here." Ed started.

Jay chuckled. "What else is new?"

Hannah continued her search. "Each Spire has a core that sends and receives signals from the Eye. But without a core, the Spire and the Eye is blind to what's going on in the city." She said before her eyes lit up. She reached inside and grabbed a spherical device, pulling it a few times before she could finally heave it out. The sphere was white and heavy with several wires and cables attached to it. "This is it." She said before tugging out the wires keeping it connected to the rest of the room. In response, all the screens, panels, and even the lights shut off without warning before a faint red light began to slowly flash, providing some much-needed illumination even if it was a little ominous.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Jay asked Hannah.

"I don't know but if the rest of the building is shut down then it isn't going to be long before they find out what happened." The trio left the room and started moving down the dark hallway. "Let's get out of here before we're made."

Before they could exit the hall, they heard clapping. Even through the darkness they could make out an older man standing at the other end of the hall wearing all black. He gave off a sense of danger that worked against the large smile he had plastered on his face. He was an older man, as flecks of white peppered his hair, mustache, and short beard. Simply looking at him shook the rebels to their center and even they didn't know why. "Well kiddos," He started, a strong southern drawl to his accent that helped his tough demeanor. "I'd say you've been made." He looked at the core in Hannah's hands. "Now little girl, how's about you hand that over so we don't have to get violent."

The Punisher raised his rifle to the stranger and Jay stepped in front of Hannah. "Not a chance asshole." He said.

The man smiled again and began to walk towards them. "I won't ask again kids."

"You won't have to." The Punisher shot one bullet that pierced the man's skull and he fell to the ground.

There was a slight moment of hesitation between the trio as Hannah and Jay looked to the Punisher who lowered his gun. "Ed!" Hannah shouted. "What the hell? I said no killing!"

"He's the bad guy, Hannah!" Ed fired back.

"He was unarmed!"

"Look, do you want to complain or leave?" Ed asked her. "Because I think I just bought us some time."

Hannah scowled at him. "We'll talk about this later."

"Oh," The three turned to see the dead man rise from the ground, the bullet wound still in his head. "Don't stop on my account." As he spoke, the hole in his head began to heal, pushing the bullet out of the wound until it popped out of his head and onto the floor. "I got all night."

Ed raised his rifle again and fired more bullets that pelted the man's black jacket, but he seemed largely unaffected. Once his mag was empty, Punisher lowered his weapon, eyes as wide as both his teammates. The man in black cracked his knuckles and grinned again. "Can't kill a man that's already dead." He said.

Hannah followed up with a plume of blue flame that consumed the man entirely!

"What happened to no killing?" Ed asked her, but she didn't respond, only focusing her eyes at where the man was.

"Now that's the good stuff." They heard from the fire. To their collective surprise, the man stepped out of the fire, largely untouched save for his visible pale white skull covered in a hellish orange flame. For a second, Hannah thought that she had melted the skin off the man but the longer she looked into his empty, black eye sockets, she realized just what they were dealing with. She looked to Jay whose eyes had given away so much fear, she was sure he had come to the same conclusion.

"Ghost Rider." She whispered.

The Ghost Rider opened his mouth an inhaled, sucking in Hannah's blue fire that lit up the hall around him. After a few seconds, he had taken it all in and exhaled. "Best damn Ghost Rider in town." He corrected. "Now," He held out his hand. "Give me the damn core or things are going to get ugly." With his other hand he held a long, flaming chain.

Hannah's mind raced as she tried to think of a way out of the Spire without battling a Ghost Rider. Her eyes darted to Punisher and Jay, both of whom were standing their ground, wearing their best brave faces but she knew they were waiting on her to make a call. She closed her eyes and settled on a plan. Her blue eyes began to flicker with fire.

"Jay, cover!" Hannah turned around, facing the surveillance room they just left. Her hand ignited in blue flame and she shot forth a large plume of fire that filled the room, melting the screens and blowing the wall out, revealing the night skyline of Manhattan. "We're jumping!" She shouted as she ran towards the newly made exit with the core.

The Ghost Rider whipped his chain at Hannah's back, but Jay stepped in its path, allowing the chain to wrap around his forearm. "Go!" Jay shouted. "I'll meet you down there." Although hesitant, Punisher followed behind Hannah. The blonde tossed Ed the core before fearlessly leaping out of the skyscraper with him. As she peered down, she felt her heart drop. The Spire looked massive from the outside, but it was nothing when looking down at the streets and buildings below. But she had no time for fear. She had her mission. Her body lit aflame as her body became engulfed in her blue light and she became as weightless as a feather. Her hood and jeans burned off, revealing her skin tight fireproof uniform that laid underneath. She flew towards Punisher and, after extinguishing the fire around her hand, gripped him and began to slow their descent to the streets below.

Back at the top of the Spire, Jay began to pull the supernatural henchman towards him, but the man chuckled. He tightened his grip on his chain and channeled his demonic hellfire through it and towards Jay! At first, he felt nothing, his indestructible skin tanking the damage. But after a moment, Jay felt the heat encompass his arm and slowly burn his skin! Through the building pain, he grabbed the chain and pulled on it, yanking the Rider off his feet and towards Jay's fist! With a well-aimed punch to the easy to spot jawline of the villain, the Ghost Rider tumbled back to the ground as Jay pulled the chain from his arm and dropped it on the ground. He then turned and jumped out of the same hole his comrades had, plummeting down to the ground below.

However, as he dropped, he felt a warm embrace clutch to his back. The Ghost Rider was falling along with him, holding Jay in a bear hug!

"Yee-haw!" The Rider shouted as Jay struggled against his grip.

Hannah, still in her fire form, watched as Jay and the Ghost Rider fell. She turned to Ed. "Get that back to base, I'll help with Jay." Before Ed could protest, Hannah shot off into the night sky, towards Jay. She landed a punch on Ghost Rider, causing him to lose grip on the boy. With Jay free, Hannah took his hand and slowed his fall as the Rider crashed into the ground below.

The young girl felt her body begin to betray her. She had over extended herself tonight and her flame started to go out. She began panting, trying to stop their rapid loss of altitude.

"Hannah?" Jay asked as he saw the ground approaching faster than he'd like. He noticed her flames die out and knew that her time limit had come up at the worst time. He could survive a fall from this high but Hannah without her fire was still human. The girl tried to stay conscious but felt her body give out and she began to fall with Jay! The young man, still holding her hand, pulled her into his chest and tried to cover as much of her with his own body as possible before he slammed into the pavement of the street below, back first, blasting a crater into the ground.

There was the ache of pain and then everything was blurry. Hannah lifted her head from Jay's chest, her body slightly suffering from the impact of their fall. "Oh my God. Jay." She started, trying to find the strength to stand. "You alright?"

Jay gasped and coughed. He groaned as he lifted his head. "I've never fallen a hundred stories before." Hannah breathed a sigh of relief and stood on the shaky ground before helping Jay to his feet. The boy brushed debris off his back and shrugged. "Didn't know I could get the wind knocked out of me..." He chuckled.

Hannah gave him a nervous smile but then remembered their situation. She began dusting off her blue and black uniform and climbed out of the small crater, Jay following close behind. "We have to get out of here. Ed's got the core and he should be on his way back to base."

The two stepped out of the small crater and into the streets. People around the block began to peak through their windows, looking down at the scene unfolding around them. Those that were sleep were easily woken up by the explosions and crashes taking place outside their homes. However, they dare not step outside after curfew, else they may be in the same situation as the rebels.

The two rebels stood in the street just in time to watch several armed guards run from the main entrance gate of the Spire, guns loaded and aimed at them.

"Great." Jay whispered to Hannah as the men began to corner them. "Any ideas?"

Hannah was silent as she bit her lip in concentration. She tried to conjure up a fire so that she may be able to fly to safety but after using her powers so intensely in such a short period of time drained her ability to even make her hands warm. It looked like she was going to go down fighting. Just like her dad.

The Ghost Rider stepped out from behind the squad of guards, once again laughing. It was unsettling watching his skeletal mouth bounce up and down.

"Bravo kiddos. You got some serious spunk and I appreciate that. I don't get sent out much but boy am I glad I was the one sent to rope you up." He placed his hands on his hips and sighed. "It's just such a shame we gotta call it a night and wrap it up. I'm gonna need that core now little miss."

"We don't have it." Hannah said to him. "It's long gone." Her eyes narrowed and pierced daggers into the Ghost Rider.

"Is that right?" Ghost Rider stood in front of Hannah, the taller man looking down at her, meeting her gaze with his own. Hannah challenged him, defiantly refusing to break eye contact. After a few moments Ghost Rider broke the staring contest and laughed. "I love this girl!" He pointed to her. "Look at the balls on her! I met bastards three times your size with less cojones than you." He looked to Jay. "Which one of you wears the pants in the relationship?" His remark almost earned a right hook from Jay, but he kept his fist clenched. One punch and the guards would start shooting. Of course, he'd survive but he couldn't fight them off and protect Hannah at the same time.

The Rider looked to the guards standing behind him. "Wrap 'em up. They ain't gonna talk. Lucky for me, we got people for that."

A small squad of guards ran towards the duo, carrying large metal bracers. Jay looked at Hannah who was still clearly thinking up some escape strategy but with her powers on cool down and the presence of a Ghost Rider, no plan she could conjure up would be enough.

However, before the guards could approach, a familiar black sphere dropped to the ground in front of them and, after a moment, it exploded into a cloud of smoke. Although confused, Jay and Hannah wasted no time taking down the few guards in front of them.

The Rider and the other guards behind him were ready to engage but another sphere dropped in the crowd before exploding in a massive mix of orange and yellow. The blast knocked the Ghost Rider and several of the officers off their feet and to the ground.

Once the smoke settled, a whistle from a nearby building caught Jay and Hannah's attention. There, they spotted the Punisher shooting down the remaining guards. The ones that survived fired at the night sky at where they thought their target was. Bullets whizzed by Hannah and Jay as they ran towards Ed's perch, Jay making sure to run close to Hannah so that he could take any bullets meant for her.

Hannah felt her hand grow warm and a small blaze started in her palm. It wasn't much but she'd take what she could get. The blonde gripped Jay's hand and, just as they got to the building where Ed was set up, she shouted, "Jump!" The two jumped and Hannah blasted the ground beneath them with fire, propelling them up the side of the six-story building and onto the rooftop with Ed!

"I told you to leave."

"Aren't you glad I didn't?"

Jay gave Ed's armored shoulder a pat. "I'm sure as hell glad you didn't."

Ed handed Hannah the core. "We're not gettin' out of here together. Someone has to stay behind and keep their attention."

"Ed... You're not going to-."

"You two need to get that back to Chris before they surround this building." He looked to his two worried teammates. "Oh, stop with the puppy dog eyes and get to moving." He smiled underneath his helmet. "I got this."

Jay shook his head in protest. "I'm not going to leave you Ed. We all make it out or none of us make it-."

"He's right." Jay's head jerked to look at Hannah who was staring at the floor. "We need to leave or we'll all be captured, and this would have been for nothing."

Jay shook his head again. "I'm not leaving him. You're our leader." He pointed to Hannah. "Figure something else out."

Ed placed a hand on Jay's shoulder. "Jay. Really. I'm okay with this. If someone bites it tonight I'd prefer it's me. Now. Get going."

Despite his reluctance, Jay stood and started to follow Hannah to the backside of the building, away from the gunfire. "Thank you." He said.

Ed smirked. "See ya around." With that, he returned his attention to the guards below him, firing into the unorganized crowd to make sure his friends had enough time to escape. Every guard who popped their head out of their makeshift cover spot would receive a bullet for their troubles. The Punisher was ready to keep this up all night if he had to. At least until he ran out of bullets.

The Rider stood and casually dusted off his black jacket. One of the guards approached him.

"Sir, they're stationed on top of that building." He pointed to the six-story structure.

Without a word, the Rider coughed a red ball of fire out of his mouth and into his palm. "She ain't the only one who can play with fire." He wound his arm back and flung the ball at the top of the building. Ed watched the fire fly towards him and, before he could react, it struck the building, exploding right in front of him!

The night sky lit up orange as the top of the building burned like a lit candle. The Ghost Rider watched the fire bloom. "Well shit. Hope no one was in there." On cue, he spotted the Punisher, wobbling out of the wreckage of the building. Parts of his black armor was missing, and his helmet was gone, revealing the grizzled face of a tired man. "Well, well, well! This one's a survivor." He turned to the remaining guards. "Hold your fire. I got this one."

Before the Rider could even say anything, the Punisher hit him with the butt of his weapon before swiping it back across his jaw. However, he was not lucky enough to get a third strike as the Rider would backhand him to the ground.

Ed landed hard on his back and, despite his suit's padding, coughed up blood that spilled from his mouth and down his cheek. Traversing through the burning building had scorched parts of his body and broken others. But even through the pain, he still managed to lift himself as the Ghost Rider walked towards him. He drew his pistol and shot at the angry spirit. The bullets hit his jacket, but he wasn't fazed. He kicked the gun from Ed's hand slammed his knee into his chest, earning more blood on the rebel's part.

"At some point, delaying the inevitable just gets annoying. Now, you're gonna tell me where your friends are running off to or..." He placed his flaming finger just under Ed's eye and dragged it along his face, leaving a black scar. Ed screamed in pain but didn't have the energy to fight back. "You're gonna start hurtin'."

Ed's screams of pain unexpectedly morphed into laughter. "You stupid son of a bitch." The Rider could hear ticking from Ed's body. He looked to the man's hand and spotted yet another black sphere in his palm. Only this one had a skull painted on it with two x's over its eyes. "Getting hurt was part of the plan."

"Aw hell." The Rider said just before the Punisher's grenade exploded!

Just a few blocks away, Jay and Hannah stepped into a dark alleyway, Hannah holding the core tight with both hands. They took a second to catch their breath. However, the massive explosion at the foot of the Spire caught their attention.

"Ed..." Hannah said in a low whisper.

Jay grit his teeth in both sadness and anger before slamming his fist into the wall. If stealth wasn't the priority, Hannah was sure that he'd let out his anger in a flurry of punching and yelling.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "We don't have much time before they start sweeping the streets looking for us." Jay was silent. "We have to go."

Jay looked over his shoulder to look at Hannah. In that moment, they grieved together, mourning their friend. He exhaled deeply, as if he were momentarily expelling his anger. "Alright. Alright, I'm good. Let's go."

The two ducked out of the alley and ran off into the night with the core.

 **The Sanctum Sanctorum**

In the very messy and cluttered library of the Sanctum, Ben swept up dust, wood shards, and pieces of slashed books while Seren piled the heavier things like cut up parts of chairs and tables near the doorway. Ben kneeled to pick up an old scroll that was now cut in half.

"Really hope this wasn't anything important."

Seren sighed heavily. "Again, I apologize for attacking you and your friends."

"It's fine. No harm no foul. Well. Except to the library but Emilia's the only person who comes in here anymore." He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "Honestly though, I should thank you."

"What for?"

"For shaking things up around here. Things have been so… Stagnant since the day we got here. Then you show up and boom. I feel excited for the first time in years."

"I couldn't imagine staying here for most of your life. I was only a child when Asgard fell. My father used the last of his strength to teleport me somewhere safe before he died. And ever since I had revenge beating in my heart. My journey took me from realm to realm to find the pieces of the Bifrost so that I could make it to Midgard. I never had a home for more than a few weeks." She looked to Ben. "Sometimes I wish that I had a place to call my own. But Asgard was my home and with it gone… Everyone I knew and loved is dead."

"I guess that's where we differ. I would give damn near anything to leave here and never come back."

"You must hate it here."

"Hate is a strong word. I just..." He paused to gather his thoughts. "I feel like I could be doing more out there. Helping people, fighting the bad guys. Just like my dad."

"Your father was a hero?"

"Oh, he was more than that. He was Spider-Man." Ben said the name, beaming with pride. "The best of the best. And... When my own powers started to emerge, I had this dumb idea that one day I could be a superhero like him. Then... Doom happened, and it feels like every day I'm here the idea of being a superhero gets further away." He looked at Seren who was staring at him. Ben quickly threw on a smile and shook his head. "Like I said, it's dumb."

"No, it isn't." Seren said softly. "Feeling honor bound to your father is nothing less than respectable and very brave." She smiled. "I hope that you get to be Spider-Man one day."

Ben couldn't help but smile back and chuckle. "Thanks. You're surprisingly profound, you know that?"

Seren shrugged. "I studied with the light elves for a while. They're poetic."

The two sat in a moment of appreciation for one another. Each got the sense that neither one of them get time to talk about their feelings very often.

Emilia stepped into the library and cleared her throat. "Am I interrupting something?"

Ben took a step away from Seren. "No, we're just cleanin'. And chattin'. Just cleanin' and chattin'."

"Oh. Okay then." She looked to Seren. "I'm ready to take you to earth."

Alex sat at the desk in his room, lazily sketching a face in his sketchbook. It was the face of his father, Steve Rogers. However, it wasn't the Steve Rogers that everyone saw - the masked face of patriotism and leadership. It was the man Alex only ever saw at home. His smiling father who would come home every day with ice cream and new stories to tell his son. Alex smiled, thinking back on the memories as he finished sketching the face.

His walk down memory lane was interrupted by a knock at his door. He quickly shut his sketchbook. "Yeah?"

Ben pushed he door open. "Em's going to send Seren away now."

After a brief walk from their teen's rooms, the two met Emilia and Seren in the foyer of the Sanctum. There was an obvious awkward air looming thanks to Emilia's outburst at Alex earlier. Ben was the first to try and levy it.

"So Em. How does this work?"

"I'm going to cast the same spell I did that brought Seren here to begin with. Only this time, there won't be any Bifrost interference to get in the way. It should open the gateway to earth this time."

"Will there be any other kind of interference?" Alex asked.

Emilia shot him a glare before answering. "Let's hope not."

Ben clapped his hands together, still trying to defuse the tension. "Okay. Let's get this show on the road."

"Thank you for your hospitality." Seren started. "You have all been too kind in letting me stay here."

"Pretty gracious hosts considering you tried to kill us, huh?" Ben teased. "Just bring us back Doom's head as a souvenir."

Seren nodded. "Aye."

Emilia began casting her spell exactly as she had done in the library and before too long, a bright light appeared in front of them before opening into a swirling portal.

"Okay," Emilia looked at the gateway. "This is your stop."

Seren stepped forward and turned back to the trio. "Thank you. I truly hope I get to see you when this is all over."

"Good luck." Alex said. "Killing Doom and all."

Ben and Emilia waved her off as she turned to step into the portal. However, Seren felt a slight vibration on her back. She retrieved Slorbryter from its sheathe and watched its runes glow an eerie red. She looked at the portal in front of her and watched as it started to grow. The teens traded confused looks.

"Tell me that's supposed to happen." Alex said to Emilia who was backing away.

"I... I don't know. That didn't happen the first time."

"Well can you close it?"

"I... I can try." She started casting a spell to shut it down, but her magic seemed to be having no effect as the vortex expanded into the ceiling, seemingly slicing through to the top of the Sanctum!

The gravity of the gateway began pulling things towards it, first small items like the carpet and decorative plants. But as it got bigger, heavier items were affected by its pull, even the four teenagers! Ben ducked to the ground, sticking his fingers to the floor to try and stop himself from flying into the portal. Seren took her axe in both hands and wedged it into the floorboards, slowing her pull. Not so lucky was Alex who was quickly yanked off his feet and barreled towards the mass of white light! Ben reached out for his friend and grabbed his arm, holding onto him as his own grip on the ground started to give way.

"Emilia!" Alex called. But the girl was lost in concentration as she tried her best to stop the portal from growing any further but to no avail. She began to lose her footing and, despite her trying to levitate backwards, she was ultimately pulled into the swirling vortex!

"No!" Alex and Ben both shouted. Before they could follow in after her, the portal grew to encompass all of them and, in a flash of light, there was nothing.

 **Later**

Alex's consciousness slowly swirled back into him and his eyes fluttered open. His stomach churned as he started to stand, and his head felt like it spent a few hours in a tight vice, but he wobbled to his feet. He was still in the foyer of the Sanctum, but everything seemed off. However, he couldn't quite place what felt wrong.

"Em...?" He called. No answer. "Ben? Seren?" Again, no answer. Obviously, he hadn't been dreaming. The foyer was littered with items that he guessed had been pulled in from other rooms. Couches were overturned, plates smashed on the ground, and papers were still fluttering about. He stood up, nursing his headache with his hand and moved up the stairs of the Sanctum. "Guys! Where are you?" At the top of the stairs, sunlight beamed through the window above the Sanctum's door. It caught his eye and the boy flinched, blocking it out with his hand. "That's not helping the headache." He said to himself. But then he stopped. Sunlight? There shouldn't be any sunlight in the Sanctum's pocket dimension.

Alex looked at the sun-drenched window and felt his heart skip a beat. The boy ran back down the stairs and towards the front door, throwing it open and seeing something he never thought he'd see with his own two eyes again: Sunlight cutting through treetops and onto the luscious green grass in front of him. He stepped out of the Sanctum which was sitting comfortably in the clearing of a large plot of grass, stretching up past the trees. Alex's eyes darted back and forth, trying to figure out where he was. His answer came in a couple walking on a sidewalk a few feet in front of him. They looked at him quizzically before turning their attention to the large building in front of them.

"Excuse me," He called to them. "Where am I?"

The woman of the couple looked to her partner and then back to Alex. "Uh... Central Park." She responded. "New York."

Alex froze in fear and gulped hard. He almost felt his legs give out under him. He was definitely on earth and now that a giant house popped into the middle of a park, there was no way that Doom's forces weren't aware. They would be coming for him any second. And worse, Ben, Emilia, and Seren were nowhere to be found.

He had to leave.


End file.
